• Paramount Pictures has set January 14, 2028 as the release date for the next Longlegs movie
• Nicolas Cage and writer-director Osgood Perkins are both returning for the follow-up
• Paramount describes it as set in the Longlegs universe — not a direct sequel
• Neon, which distributed the original, passed on the project due to budget size; Paramount stepped in
• The first film grossed $127.9M worldwide on a $10M budget, becoming a word-of-mouth horror hit

Nicolas Cage is going back to the dark side. Paramount Pictures has officially set January 14, 2028 as the release date for the next film in the Longlegs universe, confirming both Cage and filmmaker Osgood Perkins are returning to the nightmare they first built together in 2024.

The project is being positioned carefully — Paramount’s press release is clear that this is not a direct sequel but rather a new story set within the Longlegs universe. Plot details are being kept firmly under wraps, though that open-ended framing has fans already speculating. A prequel seems like the most logical direction, but the studio isn’t tipping its hand either way.

From Indie Sensation to Paramount Franchise

One of the more interesting behind-the-scenes moves here is the distributor shift. The original Longlegs was released by Neon in July 2024, and it became the indie distributor’s best domestic opening weekend ever — $22.4 million in its debut, legging out to $74.3 million domestically and nearly $128 million worldwide against a production budget of just $10 million. By any measure, that’s a phenomenon.

But when the follow-up started taking shape, Neon stepped aside. According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources indicated the sequel’s budget was simply beyond Neon’s usual range. Paramount — which has made horror a stated priority — moved in and acquired the rights. The studio knows this weekend: January MLK openings have been good to them, with Scream pulling $33.8 million in 2022 and Mean Girls $33.6 million in 2024. Their all-time record for that frame belongs to Cloverfield’s $46.1 million back in 2008.

Perkins will write and direct again, and the producing team largely reunites the original crew — Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Chris Ferguson, Dave Caplan, and Perkins himself are all back. Cage will both star and produce, continuing his creative investment in the project.

What Made the First One So Special

For those who need a refresher: the original Longlegs starred Maika Monroe as FBI Agent Lee Harker, a haunted investigator pulled into a series of ritualistic murder-suicides connected to a mysterious serial killer. Cage played the titular Longlegs — nearly unrecognizable beneath heavy prosthetics — in a performance that reminded everyone why he remains one of the most compelling and unpredictable actors working today. The cast also included Alicia Witt, Blair Underwood, and Kiernan Shipka.

What the film did with its marketing campaign became almost as talked-about as the movie itself. Neon kept Cage’s character deliberately hidden, teasing audiences with cryptic imagery and drip-fed content that had the internet obsessed before a single frame of footage was widely seen. Industry observers have since cited it as a model for how to build anticipation in the horror space.

The film elevated Perkins — who previously directed I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House — to genuine name-brand horror director status almost overnight. That combination of a breakout filmmaker, a fully committed Cage, and a marketing campaign that genuinely unnerved people is a hard thing to replicate. Which is exactly why January 2028 will be worth watching closely.

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